Biotechnology: According
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, biotechnology can be broadly
defined as “using living organisms or their products for commercial
purposes.” As such, biotechnology has been practiced since the
beginning of recorded history in such activities as baking bread, brewing
alcoholic beverages, or breeding food crops or domestic animals.
A modern definition of biotechnology
is “the commercial application of living organisms or their products
involving the deliberate manipulation of their DNA molecules.”
Bioinformatics: An
emerging discipline that blends biology and information technology.
Bioinformatics refers to the use of computer technology to gather, process
and analyze biological data.
DNA: The abbreviation
for deoxyribonucleic acid, the substance within cells that carries the
“recipe” for the organism and is inherited by offspring from
parents.
Genome: The entire
DNA “recipe” for an organism, found in every cell of that
organism.
